Message: | Cooking with, and learning from, Diana Kennedy is one of my treasured experiences. Diana's sermon about lard was much like Rick Bayless's, including the counsel against using commercially prepared lard. Like you, I always render my own lard, and the difference in flavor is dramatic--well worth the effort. I'm not a purist in this respect. I sometimes use commerical chicken stock as a short-cut rather than home-made. It all depends on the dish, and whether you think the home-made stuff will make a noticeable difference in flavor. I remember making a watercress soup one time in which one of my guests, after taking his first spoonful, commented loudly, "Wow, I can sure taste the homemade stock Tom, it's great!" Mission accomplished.
In any event, it always puzzles me when a Mexican restaurant, like Monte Alban, makes its non-use of lard a selling point. I agree that it exploits the ignorance of the masses on this subject. Viva lard! |